In Kimberley

I've been in South Africa for a few days now and am getting into the swing of the England tour. One warm-up match has already been won convincingly and the second is taking place in Kimberley, a former mining town with an intriguing history, as it was central to the country's diamond rush in the late 19th century.

Having driven the two hours west from Bloemfontein, across wide red-earthed plains, and past a myriad of termite mounds as well as the odd ostrich, the attention of producer Louise Sutton and I was soon focused on Stuart Broad, after he got off the team bus with his right arm in a sling.

It transpired that he'd injured his bowling shoulder diving in the field during the warm up game against the Eagles, but fortunately, the results of scans have shown there is no major damage.

England will be hoping his shoulder responds to treatment by the end of the week, so he can play in the Twenty20 international on Friday. However, the fact that the ECB have said he'll miss the next two matches "at least" suggests they will err on the side of caution, with the one-day series taking priority over T20s.

England need a fully fit Stuart Broad for the games against South Africa

The bowing department is certainly a lot lighter without Broad, who has genuine wicket-taking ability with the new ball, together in partnership with James Anderson.

Broad took a wicket in each of his first two overs against the Eagles in his first competitive bowl on this tour and Tim Bresnan, the natural replacement, doesn't possess quite the same qualities in terms of wicket-taking - and Broad offers that extra height and bounce as well.

Another concern for England at the moment is Graham Onions, who is still struggling with a stiff back and only bowled off a few paces in training on Saturday. He continued to do stretches on his own instead of training fully with the rest of the squad, but the coaching staff say he's improving and they're encouraged by what they've seen.

On the batting front, Jonathan Trott followed his century in the deciding Ashes Test by making an immediate impact in Bloemfontein. Once Kevin Pietersen returns, one batsman has to make way and Trott has made it very difficult for that man to be him. Joe Denly needs a big innings to apply some pressure.

Another encouraging sign from the first warm-up game was England's productive use of the powerplay - 57-1 in the 5 overs - with Eoin Morgan producing some clean hitting.

The squad haven't had long in Kimberley but after training on Saturday, a number of players took the opportunity to visit the town's premier attraction, the Big Hole. The huge, water-filled crater is the largest hand dug excavation in the world, created over a period of 43 years when prospectors seeking their fortune flooded to the town to dig for diamonds armed with nothing but picks and shovels.

They started coming in 1871. Some made their fortune, others died trying to. In all, some 2,722 kgs of diamonds were extracted up to point when mining ended in 1914. You can view the crater and then explore the reconstructed mining town adjacent to the site, complete with verandas and swinging saloon doors.

It felt like an eerie ghost town. There wasn't a soul in sight, but it was the cause of great excitement to discover that a colonial style pub called the Australian Arms was not only real, but also open, and serving exquisite evening meals!

The pub housed three aged pianos, all of which were dreadfully out of tune (either that, or it was just my awful attempt at bashing out Waltzing Matilda) but it all added to the authenticity of the experience.

You can see more photos from Kimberley on the TMS Flickr and via Ali's Twitter @AlisonMitchell